Ultraman (Back to the Beginning)

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I was a big fan of Ultraman when I was a kid. In the early ‘90s I discovered there was a new “Ultraman” show, but unfortunately I was more interested in acquiring episodes of the old show on VHS than I was episodes of the new one. Somewhat later I discovered that there have been many, many “Ultraman” series over the years, rivaling Doctor Who in its longevity. A brief search of the internet yields the following results (but I’ve probably missed a few).

Ultra Q  
Ultraman 1966-67
UltraSeven 1967-68 
Return of…(Jack) 1971-72 
Ultraman Ace 1972-73 
Ultraman Taro 1973-74 
Ultraman Leo 1974-75 
Ultraman 80 1980-81 
Ultraman USA (The Adventure Begins) 1987
Ultraman Great (Towards the Future) 1990-91 
Ultraman Powered (The Ultimate Hero) 1993 
Ultraman Hero 1995
Ultraman Zearth (parody) 1996-97 
Ultraman Tiga 1996-97 
Ultraman Dyna 1997-98 
Ultraman Gaia 1998-99 
Ultraman Nice 1999-00
Ultraman Neos 2000-2001
Ultraman Cosmos 2001-02 
Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy 2004 
Ultraman: Next 2004 - p.82
Ultraman Nexus 2004-05 - p.82
Ultraman Max 2005-06 - p.86
Ultraman Mebius 2006-07 - p.91
Ultraman UltraSeven X 2007 - p.99
UltraGalaxy: Mega Monster Battle 2007-2009 - p.100
Ultraman Retsuden 2011-13
Neo Ultra Q 2013
Ultraman Ginga 2013 
Ultraman Ginga S 2014 
Ultraman X 2015-16 
Ultraman Orb 2016 
Ultraman Geed 2017 
Ultraman R/B 2018
Ultraman Taiga 2019
Ultraman Z 2020
Ultraman Trigger 2021
Ultraman Decker 2022
Ultraman Blazar 2023
Ultraman Arc 2024
Ultraman Omega 2025
Ultraman Theo 2026

We’ve been discussing other tokusatsu series in this forum lately, and because those series were produced later than Ultraman, I expected them to be technically better, but I ended up being somewhat disappointed in Super Robot Red Baron and Iron King. I enjoyed them, but I didn’t like them as much as I hoped to. Now I’ve started watching Ultraseven, and it’s everything I hoped it would be.

As the liner noteson the DVD set point out, “the difference in the overall quality in production between Ultraman and Ultraseven was marked, and made the show memorable 45 years later. According to Wikipedia, “Such is his popularity that Ultra Seven (or simply 'Seven') has appeared or at least made cameos in nearly every Ultra Series following his own and has had far more exposure than even the original Ultraman (though the original Ultraman is without a doubt the face of the Ultras).”

My wife and I disagree about the relative merits of Ultraseven in comparison to SRRB/IK. I would like to start the discussion with a look at the opening title sequence and music, then open the floor for rebutal.

The title sequence of Ultraman, as you will recall, looks as if it had been spelled out in a can of paint, slowly stirred, then run backwards. Ultraseven looks more like it had been spelled out in brightly colored confetti, placed atop one of those old electric football games, shaken apart, then run backwards. Whereas the soundtrack of Ultraman is jazzy, that of Ultraseven shows more of a classical influence.

Here is the English translation of the lyrics…

Seven… Seven… Seven… Seven…

Seven! Seven! Seven!
Seven! Seven! Seven!

A distant star was once his home
Ultra Seven! Fighter Seven!
Ultra Seven! Seven! Seven!

Onward to the edge of the galaxy
Use your Ultra-Eye and… STRIKE!
Seven! Seven! Seven!
Seven! Seven! Seven!

Dan Moroboshi is his borrowed name
Ultra Seven! Hero Seven!
Ultra Seven! Seven! Seven!

Defeat the great fire-breathing monster
Use yout Ultra-Beam and STRIKE!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

...he was adept in closely matching the dubbed English to the mouth-movements of the Japanese-speaking actors.

I have heard before that he took great pains to match the English words to the Japanese mouth movements, which also accounts for the phrasing throughout the show which sometimes sounds odd to Western ears. I'm sure we've all seen Japanese films dubbed into English where such pains were not taken. The results of such dubs are obvious, and his efforts are always much appreciated.

[The Baron]

Episode 05: "The Secret of the Miroganda"

1. "Featuring Green Moose". The Ultra Wiki gives the name as "Greenmons", which seems more likely to me.
2. A reporter named Kobayashi is driving recklessly late at night and has a car accident. Then, a goofy-looking green thing attacks him. The creature (hereafter "Greenmons") then attacks a geologist who is working late at night.
3. Back at SSSP HQ, the police have asked the Science Patrol to assist with the unusual cses. Captain Muramatsu assigns Ide and Arashi to go to the Omuro Highlands, where a Professor Yamada - who had been workinng on genetically modifying plant life - who had died under similar circumstnces.
4. Cap and Hayata go to the scene where Kobayashi died. They find a strange green substsnce near the car's skid marks,
5. Arashi nd Ide land near a large sphere which housed Professor Yamada's lab and greenhouse.  Ide discovers a giant carrot that Yamada had been devloping to fight famine. This remonds me of the giant produce that Dr. Ed Wainwright  (Peter Graves) was working on in Beginning of the End (1957) and the irradiated vegetables that washed ashore on the Island in the Gilligan's Island episode "Pass the Vegetables, Please". Maybe that was a big theme back then.
6. Arashi notes that Kobayashi and the geologist were part of a five-person expedition to Oilys Island. The two surviving members of the expeditiion are zoologist Professor Sakai and photographer Setsuko Hamaguchi.
7. Cap and Hayata consult Professlt Iwamoto, who is played by Akihiko Hirata, who was in numerous tokusatsu and kaiju eiga. He says that the green stuff had similarities to both animal and plant life. At that moment, Fuji reports to Cap that Professor Sakai has been killed inexpensively, off camera. Iwamoto tells Arashii that there were traces of radiation in the green substance. Arashi tells him that a plant was missing from Yamada's greenhouse.Iwamoto identifies it as a Miroganda. Ide tells him that Yamada had been working on genetically modifying it. Arashi accidentally hits Ide while theorizing about the Miroganda. Back at SSSP HQ, Ide is seen wearing a comedy "toothache" bandage.  It's as if since Hoshino was absent from the episode, Ide had to make up the "repulsively unfunny" deficit.
8. Hayata has been sent to Hamaguchi's house. Ide suggests that he, Cap and Arashi should join him there, and Cap agrees. As they leave, Arashi accidentally (?) hits Ide again.
9. At Hamaguchi's home. they ask her whether anything unusual while they were on the island. She notes that at one point, they all got lost. She has a black and white flashback showing how Kobayashi found some water which they all drank, and how they discovered the Miroganda , which was in color. Hamaguchi was then attacked by a carnivorous plant. They work out that there must have been something unusual in the water. 
10. Greenmons appears outside Hamaguchi's house and attacks Arashi. The other men arrive and shoot it Greenmons with their Super-Guns.
11. Later, Iwamoto warns them that their attack may have backfired.
12. Fuji's specialy is Akiko Soup, whatever that must be.
13. A monster has appered in Marunouchi. The four men go there and find that Greenmons has grown to giant size, like the Krynoid in Doctor Who. Arashi shoots it with the Spider-Shot, to no effect. Greenmons hits Arashi with his Poison Mist attack. Arashi must be super-human, since he survives direct attacks by monsters.
14. Hayata transforms, but even Ultraman is vulnerble to the  Poison Mist attack. Ultraman reocovers, and sets Greenmons ablaze with his Spacium Beam.
15. So far, Ide seems to be the closest to working out that Hayata is Ultraman.

Overall: An interesting story ruined for me by Ide;s grotesque, unfunnny overacting.  I mean, I get it, cultural difference s and all that. For aught  I know, Ide's schtick was hysterically funny to the Japanese schoolchildren for which it was originally intended, but good God, I just wanted to smack him.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

This reminds me of the giant produce that Dr. Ed Wainwright  (Peter Graves) was working on in Beginning of the End (1957) and the irradiated vegetables that washed ashore on the Island in the Gilligan's Island episode "Pass the Vegetables, Please". 

It reminds me of "The Great Vegatable Rebellion" episode of Lost in Space (Cyrano Jones' new gig).

 Back at SSSP HQ, Ide is seen wearing a comedy "toothache" bandage.

As you noted yesterday, "Ide must love Hoshino, because if Hoshino didn't exist, Ide would be the most annoying character." When I was a kid I found Ide/Ito much more annoying than Hoshino, and to be honest, I still do. granted, Hoshino had no business being there in the first place, but he at least he had an excuse for acting like a child: he was one. Come to think of it, though, why is Fuji spending so much time with Hoshino, even going on vacation with him, if he is not her brother?

Fuji's specialy is Akiko Soup, whatever that must be.

It's the same thing as Miso soup, usually the first course in any Japanese restaurant. I didn't catch anything about Akiko soup in the English dub, but there was a scene several minutes long cut from the Japanese version.

I gather that the actress asked to be given more to do than she had been given as Yuriko, so we'll see how that works out.

In this episode she had little more to do than Lt. Uhura in early episode of Star Trek: "Hailing frequencies open."

Dubs & Subs:

Sometime cuntural references are replaced with Westernized ones. Yesterday I almost went back to check the "spagettin and sandwiches" scene, but didn't when they ended up eating spagetti and sandwiches. Out of curiousity, though, I did go back and compare the English to the Japanese version today. for one thing, Michiko refers to herself in the third person in the Japanese version: "Michiko likes spagetti and sandwiches." But in the English version, another libne was added: "Any kind of spagetti and any kind of sandwiches. They're all delicious, don't you think?" Oddly, the English wasn't trying to match any mouth movements; it was simply "ad-libbed" during the scene transition.

In today's episode I did check the reference to Sherlock Holmes: it's the same in both versions. 

But "planetland" makes as much sense as anything.

Yes, as opposed to "countryland" or "continentland."

 

 

[The Baron]

I didn't catch anything about Akiko soup in the English dub, but there was a scene several minutes long cut from the Japanese version.

That reminds me. According to the Ultra Wiki, Hoshino was originally intended to be in tbis episode, but his scenes were cut from the script.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Thank God(zilla) for small favors.

[Commander Benson]

Episode 05: "The Secret of the Miroganda"

I enjoyed how the writers tried to break free of what was already becoming the Ultraman formula, by presenting us with the bizarre "green puddle" murders.  After that, as the events progress, the parts of the mystery fit together logically.  For once, it doesn't seem like the Science Patrol is just marking time until Ultraman shows up.

 

So far, Ide seems to be the closest to working out that Hayata is Ultraman.

Aye.  The "Hayata, where have you been?" business started with "Science Patrol, Move Out", when Ito notices Hayata returning to the scene and remarks, "Well, there's Hayata.  I'd like to know where he's been."  And in this episode, he's the first to note Hayata's absence.  It would've been a nice touch if Ito began having suspicions about Hayata's connexion to Ultraman, but I don't think the writers thought to add that sub-text.  I'll keep an eye on that as I review these episodes, but as I recall, nothing ever came of Ito being the first to notice.  Pretty much every episode ended with one of the S.P. saying "Hayata, where have you been?" or "Hayata, you just missed seeing Ultraman destroy the monster."

Lois Lane would've been on it after episode one.

 

An interesting story ruined for me by Ide's grotesque, unfunnny overacting.

So true.  But over time, a strange dichotomy arises in Ito's actions.  Half the time (or more), Ito mugs for the camera like, as I put it once, a drunken college student on spring break.  Yet, there are times that Ito actually makes a sound and reasonable suggestion.  Besides following the series in episode order, I've also been looking at some episodes scatter-shot, and on the occasions when Ito does make a good suggestion, sometimes Captain Mura agrees, and the rest of the time, Mura dismisses it because it's coming from Ito.

 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

The Ultraman manga series picls up "several decades later" and ignores all other television series. Hayata is Defense Minister and Ide is Chief. In v1, Ide reveals to Hayata that "everybody in the Science Patrol knew" he was Ultraman, but "[kept] it under wraps" to prevent Hayata from being "turned into a guinea pig."

On TV, I suspect the SSSP tolerated Ide/Ito because he was an idiot savante.

 

[The Baron]

That reminds me. Between now and the end of time, I must update this thread.

[The Baron]

Episode 06: "The Coast Guard Command"

1. "Featuring Sea Monster Guesra", who is basically Dynamite Joe's pet "alligatortoise" from Ultra Q with some extra fins stuck on.
2. At HQ, Fuji relays a report that a 20 meter (65 foot 7.4 inch) shark was found floating in Yokohama Bay with bite marks on it. She, Ide and Hayata ponder how the shark could've gotten that large and what could've killed it.
3. As it happens, Hoshino is currently in Yokohama with two friends, a boy (Chiro) and a girl (Nobuko). While they're using binoculars to check out a cargo vessel carrying cacao beans,  Chiro spots a monster. When Hoshino looks, he sports two suspicious characters, one of whom he vaguely recognizes, but can't place. Chiro urges him to call the SSSP. By an astonishing coincidence, the phone booth (Remember them?) they go to use has a wanted poster for the guy that Hoshino saw, a jewel smuggler called "Diamond Kick". When Hoshino calls HQ, Arashi blows him off, telling him that it's not their job and to call the cops.
4. Hoshino and pals encounter an old salt who is a crew member of the ship that carried the cacao beans. He speculates that what Chiro saw was a Guesra, a South American lizard that loves cacao beans that may have come to Japan hidden in the ship's cargo. Just then, Guesra appears and attacks a ship. For some reason, the sailors prevent the children from racing towarss the monster.
5. While the SSSP head for the scene, Chiro sugggest that the three children should check out the warehouse where the cacao beans were stored to see whetwher there are any "Guesra babies" there. As it happens, the two crooks are in the warehouse, searching for diamonds that are supposedly hidden in the beans. The crooks capture the kids.
6. The SSSP arrive. Cap plans to spread cacao beans in the bay to distract it while people evacuate. In the warehouse, they discover some diamonds and Chiro's shoe.
7. Guesra arrives and attacks another ship. At the same time, Hoshino is attempting to escape from the crooks.
8. While searching from the air, the SSSP speculate that the Guesra grew so large owing to the pollution in Tokyo Bay. Also, God's angry. They spot Guesra in the sea.
9. The Old Salt tells Cap that Guesra will die if its antennae are destroyed. Hayata calls in and says that they're about to attack. Cap tells him to hold off, still hoping to deal with the creature peacefully. They determine that Guesra is heading for the warehouse.
10. The kids escape, but Chiro sneezes and gives them away. The SSSP hear the kids' cries. As Guesra approaches the warehouse, the crooks fire their guns at it, despite the absurdity of thinking that their handguns could possibly do more than irritate something that size.
11. Hayata is trapped in the collapsed warehouse, unable to reach the Beta Capsule. His comrades shoot at the Guesra with their ray guns, to no effect.
12. Hayata transforms and saves his colleagues and the children from Guesra. He then goes on to fight the creature. (Side Note: How does Hoshino know what the Color-Timer is called? Or is that just the name that the SSSP have given it? Ultraman pulls Guesra into the sea and pulls its antennae off. Then he flies away.  Hayata reappears, having captured the two crooks.
13. Back at HQ, Cap thanks the kids for their help in catching the jewel thieves. Fuji brimgs in a try of  sweets, and Chiro loses his shoe again, the little idiot.

Overall: I liked this episode well enough.  Ide behaved normally, and even Hoshino and  pals weren't especailly obnoxious.

 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

...an old salt who is a crew member of the ship that carried the cacao beans.

It's easy to tell (as it is on Speed Racer and Star Trek: TAS) when an incidental character is voiced by one of the main cast.

Observation: The imperfections on Ultraman's mask are really obvious in close-ups in HD.

Dubs and Subs:

The English dub cuts 3½ from the beginning, 30 seconds from the middle, and one minute from the end, but nothing that really affects the story.

...they discover some diamonds and Chiro's shoe.

...and Chiro loses his shoe again, the little idiot.

I was going to ask about that, because those are among the scenes cut. Usually, subtitles are automatically inserted when overdubs don't exist, but not this time for some reason.